Kai is talked through a rough spot by Samantha and Castor as Roubani listens in.

Date:

PHD031

Related Logs:

None

Players:

........

Kai is slumped in one of the chairs at the table, hair a damp mess of curls matted to his skull, and a cigarette pinched between two knuckles that he's dragging from now and then. He's in his fatigues tonight, boots unlaced like he either just finished tugging them on, or is planning on hitting the rack soon.

Castor steps in with Samantha, "Well, those weren't pancakes but it was a hot meal." Aparently they have just come from the mess. Ah, yes, vampire shift will be starting soon, "Anyway, you're right. We will need babies soon. Lots and lots of them."

Samantha steps back in with Castor, smoking a cigarette she lit up on the way back from the mess hall. She nods to his words, it apparently being a continuation of some conversation they were having over food. She stifles a bit of a yawn, having been feeling her sleepless nights for most of their conversation, but surpressing the worst of it. "Yeah… I suppose it depends on our mission objective over all. Save humanity or… take as many of them out as possible as we go down. I dunno… ain't gonna be me makin' the babies, not in the current job… but people who ain't out flying… well.."
Samantha nods to Kai as she notices him, "Sir."

Kai lifts his eyes long enough to nod to the arriving pair. "Evening, Lieutenants," is offered quietly around a drag of his cigarette. Something's plucked up off the table and slid into a pocket of his fatigues, as the pair broach the entryway.

Castor looks ovet at Sam, "Well, someone has to fly for us. Though maybe someday you could have a kid. I mean, I'd like kids." He says, "Though I don't know if this is the best place for a kid." He then looks over at Kai, "Cap, you look like a cat that has missed his nap. Long day, sir?"

Samantha wrinkles her nose clearly at the thought of a kid, not that she and Martin are shy in their practicing, but… She shakes her head and climbs up into her bunk, letting her legs dangle down from the edge of her bunk…"Nah, not the place… and yeah, while it'd be a good idea for some people to start, we ain't in any sort of shape to be rebuilding any society anyway." And then she looks over to the Captain, a frown of concern on her lips…"Spider? Seriously…somethin' on yer mind?"

Kai glances to Castor, and then to the ladder-climbing Samantha. Even if there was something wrong, Marek's probably going to be the last to volunteer it. "Nope," he offers succinctly to the blonde's query. Which has Big Fat Lie stamped all over it. He takes another drag of his cigarette.

Castor would press but the first rule of rank is you don't push on your higher ups. "Alright, well, the eltee and I were discussing having kids sir. You think the Commander is gonna press us for kids someday?" He moves over to his bunk to get some a towel, he'll need a shower soon. "I mean this is hypothetical and all for fun."

Samantha is about to push the big fat lie button, but Castor totally pulls out into left field by continuing their discussion with Kai. hell, maybe it's good to distract the captain. She rolls over onto her stomach, half leaning down off her bunk, her head peeking over the edge so she can see them body and remain comfortably sprawled on her bedding…"For the record, I don't believe you, sir… but maybe we'll talk about it later since Tinman here has proposed such an interesting question."

Except the Captain isn't biting. Not tonight. There's a glitter in his eyes as he meets Castor's, that just might be irritation. Then his lashes lower, and his wrist drapes off the end of the table, smoke pouring from his nose after a drag of the cigarette. Utter silence.

Castor notes the irritation and says, "Or not." He then changes directions and picks up a tin of shoe polish and begins working on his boots. His movements are steady and the boots look like they are ready fro the offical polish. "I shined shoes for a while when I was kid to make money." He offers as he works, "The trick to it all is not opposing the shoe but letting the polish work with it." His hands are going with the leather and not against it.

Kai still doesn't speak a word. It's not like him, not to have some snappy comeback when put on the spot, when backed into a corner. But he's utterly silent. A hand lifts so he can brush his thumb over the corner of one eye; if it comes away a little wet, maybe it's just a trick of the light. If his hand is trembling for the next drag of his cigarette? Ditto.

Castor looks at Sam and then to Kai and then he says, "I'm with the eltee, sir. You don't have to talk to us but talking to someone might help because this isn't like you, Cap." his tones are careful but concerned. He does now have one super shiny boot.

Samantha frowns a bit deeper as she sees Kai's reaction. She kills her cigarette in the small tray she keeps at the head of her bunk and then swings her legs down, leaping off of her bunk and just heading over to the Captain's side. She says nothing, but pours him out some coffee from the maker at the corner of the room, doctoring it the way he prefers (or leaving it black, if she knows that to be his preference) and bringing it over…

Samantha says, "Kai…what's wrong?…please…"

At least the coffee seems to be the right move. A pair of blue eyes flick up from their study of the cigarette, and focus on Samantha as she comes over with that cup. He answers after a long pause, "I'm a frakking imbecile, is what." Kai's hand curves around the cup, and a 'thanks' is murmured into the drink as he takes a sip.

Castor turns so he can fully face Kai, "We all make mistakes, Cap." he offers kindly and warmly. His voice becomes soft and the volume lowers. He then adds, "All of us…"

Samantha pulls over a chair to sit near the Captain's side without directly pushing into his personal space. She shakes her head slowly…"Ain't an imbecile…just human… like we all are. What happened?" She asks again, gently, keeping her voice calm and respectful but not holding back in her worry.

Roubani steps through the hatch, still in his off-duties and empty-handed. Those hands are away in his pockets. He nudges the hatch shut with his arm and starts through the rows of bunks, glancing at the brassfest at the table.

Kai is seated at the table with a cigarette, with a cup of coffee and a Lieutenant more recent additions to his proximity. "Case, I should have known better. I'm not 'just human', and I can't afford to make bullshit mistakes, Leda. I've got responsibilities to this fleet that go above and beyond that." His gaze shifts to the arriving Ensign, then lowers again as he chases a sip of coffee with a drag on the cigarette.

Castor says to Kai, "Cap, you are still human even if you are an extrodinary human or not. Even if you are not an extrodinary human you are still human and this is the military individuals don't make mistakes we all make mistakes together. Though if you don't let it all out it will eat at you and then the real trouble begins." His voice bathes with soft and soothing tones. "If it is an individual mistake than maybe we can help you fix it. No one should shoulder a burden alone not now." That is our Castor, ever the cheerleader, puppy dog, boy scout.

Samantha settles there in the chair, just at Kai's side, her body language and expression all quiet, supportive concern for the man with whom she speaks. "…well, what the hell happened that you're beatin' yourself up so bad?" She asks with just a touch of sternness to her attemptingly quiet voice. She gives Roubani a brief nod, but all her attention is for the forlorn captain now. She does nod in slow agreement to Castor's words, at least.

Roubani happens to be looking right at Kai when the Captain glances his way. He watches the man's face for a few seconds and then quietly scales the ladder up to his bunk, the creaking of the mattress fading into the general noise of their voices. He starts unlacing his boots, a rather long process since his actual work on the things seems to coincidence only with pauses in the voices below.

Kai scrubs the heel of his hand over one dark brow, as if to hide the fact that he's losing a quiet battle with composure. There's a thread of something foreign in his voice, in his mannerisms; something suspiciously like actual emotion. "No. Definitely not extraordinary." Though Castor's words do elicit a faint twitch of his lips. The Ensign's quiet stare is shirked for another pull of his cigarette, and Samantha given a shake of his head. "I appreciate the concern, Case. But it's dealt with." He says 'dealt with' in a 'the CAG's already shit her bricks' sort of way. Not like he's going to talk about what she did to him.

Castor offers in the same tones as before, "I'd say your extraodinary, Cap." His words have a sense of truth about them and they are simply stated, Leda believes what he has said, "If you are really sure it is dealt with, Sir, then we'd be up to our elbows in smiles, giggles, and shiny new vipers. None of us can push you on anything but frak, sir. It hurts me to see you all banged up."

Samantha nods once more to Castor's words…"Tinman got it… you're our heart, sir… we… we just wanna take care of you too." Sam says nothing more but, if Kai permits, she leans over to give him a proper, earnest hug. Sometimes physicality can do far more than senseless words.

Roubani is still working on that boot, only about a quarter way down with his left laces. He's a master of eavesdropping without /eavesdropping/, his eyes staying mostly down on what he's not doing up there. They only flicker towards Kai when the man says something's been dealt with, concern shadowing his dark eyes. His head doesn't move, and he looks back down at his boot. Damn knot.

Damn, what's a cold fish of a Captain to do, when people start bringing him coffee, telling him they care, and trying to hug him? Kai doesn't precisely jerk away from the contact, but it's rather like hugging a board of wood. He sort of endures it, in that socially awkward manner of his that tends to pop out at times like these. "Thank you," is offered rather quietly. It's unclear to whom, and it's equally unclear as to what. For whatever reason though, he's studiously avoiding the dark eyes of that Ensign up on his perch.

Castor is trying to get a feel for where Kai is even though he notes the physicality, he is also socially smarter than the average bear and so he is smart enough to know something just happened but he isn't sure what. "On Aquaria we have this saying, "Children crawl, and so we lift them up, men fall and so we help them rise, old men hobble and so we support them. So, we are here to help you rise, sir." He then in the same calm tones, "If it helps I'm sure we can get Kissy to let you knock him in the jaw."

Castor is trying to get a feel for where Kai is even though he notes the physicality, he is also socially smarter than the average bear and so he is smart enough to know something just happened but he isn't sure what. "On Aquaria we have this saying: Children crawl, and so we lift them up, men fall and so we help them rise, old men hobble and so we support them. So, we are here to help you rise, sir." He then in the same calm tones, "If it helps I'm sure we can get Kissy to let you knock him in the jaw."

Samantha still keeps the hug there a moment or two. Dammit, she took the risk, she'll follow through. Finally, she pulls back and nods. "Leda's smarter talkin' than I am right now. Just… just spill it, scream, vent, hit something… take care of yerself as well as others, Captain…" And with that, Sam pulls away, finally heading back to her bunk and climbing up inside even if she turns a still worried look behind her…

Roubani picks his way through the rest of the knot, his long fingers gently unweaving the rest of the laces. He slides the boot off his socked foot and lays it sideways on the mattress. There are some flickers of eyes spared back to the Captain sometimes, but he never stares. There's another boot to keep him busy, this one taking even longer than the last.

Kai actually gives a gruff chuckle at Castor's words. His voice sounds hoarse; it could be the cigarettes, or it could be he was shouting at someone recently. Three guesses. "I'm sure that would improve the CAG's disposition toward me at the moment, Lieutenant." He gives Samantha a lingering look as she slips away, then takes a sip of the coffee she brought him. "Believe it or not, I've been upset a time or two before, Case. Get some rack, and don't worry about it." There. He even tries to smile for her benefit.

Castor backs off as he gets a chuckle and as he see's the smile. He does however add, "Sir, just remember, if you fall we'll help you rise." He doesn't take his eyes off of the Kai yet.

Samantha nods slightly to Kai. "Sure, Captain. Still worry, yanno…" With that, she pulls the curtain on her bunk, possibly going to attempt at this sleep thing again. Maybe it'll work better tonight than it has been.

Lace by lace Roubani works on his boot. He doesn't seem intent on getting up in the Captain's business tonight, but there's no doubt he can hear what's going on below, like an fatigues-clad cat up on the fridge.

"Go to sleep," Kai repeats to Samantha, this time in his best pappa bear voice. Which is to say, divorced of its usual jackhammer-like abruptness. Castor's given a flick of his eyes and a small nod to signify acknowledgement, but it looks like the Captain's got nothing more to say on the subject tonight. And he's still avoiding looking Roubani's way.

Castor breaks eye contact realizing things are as good as they will get and so he begins polishing his other shoe. He was polishing his shoes before the Engsign came in. "Hey, Poet, how are you?" He says not realizing that Roubani came into the room. "I used to polish shoes once long ago." He says to no one imparticular.

Crap, Roubani's cover is blown. His fingers pause on the laces and then start again, as he quietly clears his throat. "I'm fine, sir, thank you. Yourself?" Boot now undone, he twists away from the two and searches his bunk area…ah shower robe. Grab.

Kai makes use of this lapse in attention — opportunistic bastard that he is — to stub out his cigarette, finish off his coffee, and ease back to his feet in preparation to hit his own rack. Which, as it turns out, he'll be seeing a lot of for the next few days. "Good night, both of you," is murmured just before he ascends the ladder.

Castor turns to look over at Rou, "I'm reckon I'm copacetic, Poet." He then looks back at Kai, "Night Cap." He then he then turns back to Roubani, "That reminds me I need to shower before I go on CAP."

"Don't we all." Roubani remarks to Castor, lightly enough. He climbs back down out of his bunk, socked feet making no noise on the floor. "Goodnight, sir," he answers Kai quietly, folding the robe over his arm. He seems to be headed for the shower fully dressed, as he does.